Life After VFD
by Undercover City Girl
Summary: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny leave V.F.D. and head back to Mr. Poe's office.
1. Back to Mr Poe

The Baudelaire orphans gazed out at the endless desert in front of them that led to the bus stop. It was around noon, so it was during one of the hottest parts of the day. As they stared at the scorching desert, it reminded them of a frying pan; the sizzling air rising right before their very eyes.

"Well, we'd better get started," Violet announced. "It will take us at least a good four hours to get to the but stop."

"Yes," the newly-turned thirteen Klaus agreed. "The next bus out of V.F.D. arrives around 4:30, so we'll have to walk at a faster pace than normal if we plan to catch it."

Sunny was silent because she was still exhausted from running from the V.F.D. citizens. The children began their journey across the desert. When they finally reached their destination, Sunny was sleeping in Violet's arms and Klaus looked like he was about to fall asleep while on his feet. Violet and Klaus sat down on the bench and Violet began thinking about an invention that would help her reach her friends in their self-sustaining hot-air mobile home. Violet's mind appeared to be the only one that was not majorly affected by the orphans' lack of rest.

"Maybe I could invent some kind of tracking device to find Hector and the Quagmires up in the sky," Violet wondered aloud. "Maybe some kind of radar that could be set off by metal in the sky!"

"Hmmm," Klaus replied sleepily, "that could work. I remember reading in a book somewhere that some kids about our age tried that and it worked. Maybe you could put a tracker on the end of a stick about 15 feet long that had a telescope on the side."

"Even if that **DID **work, we'd still have to figure out some way to get up there."

Just then, they heard a low rumbling sound way off in the distance.

"That must be the bus," Klaus declared. When the bus came nearer, Sunny woke up.

"Welcome aboard, kids," the bus driver said with masked sarcasm. "It'll be $1.50 please. Where are you headed to?"

"Oh, back to Mr. Poe's office please," Violet said for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Okay, we're on our way," the bus driver announced. The next thing Violet knew, the bus was slowing considerably and they were in the middle of a city.

"Are we there?" Klaus asked Violet.

"I think so," Violet replied. "I must have drifted off. The last thing I remember was leaving V.F.D."

The bus turned onto a familiar street.

"Here!" Sunny said, which meant, "We're there!"

The bus pulled up and stopped at the corner where Mr. Poe worked.

"Off you kids get," the bus driver announced. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny piled off the bus. They took their time entering Mr. Poe's office. They weren't in a big hurry, because as soon as they got there they would be shipped off to live with more strangers.


	2. The Phone Call

"Welcome back, children," Mr. Poe greeted them as they walked into his office. "Did things not work out at V.F.D. as planned? Would you rather we find you another village to live in for the "It takes a village to raise a child" theory?"

"No thank you, Mr. Poe," Klaus replied. "I think we're done with the whole "village" idea. But Violet and I talked it over and I think that we would rather try to find some friends of ours to live with. They live in the sky."

"Oh they do, do they?" Mr. Poe asked uneasily. "And what do you mean by, 'they live in the sky'?"

"Duncan and Isadora Quagmire and Hector are for the time being living in a self-sustaining hot-air mobile home. We're not positive where they are because they are floating above us somewhere," Violet said. She doubted that Mr. Poe was believing a word that she was saying, but oh well, she was telling the truth.

Mr. Poe looked at her with a doubtful expression on his face, confirming Violet's suspicions. "You could only live in the air for so long before you would run out of supplies, such as food and water. Do you really think that your friends could float in the air forever? There is not as much oxygen high up in the air, so is it really an intelligent idea to try to spend the rest of your life drifting around, wherever the wind takes you? You might not be able to survive for very long."

Violet considered that thought. "That could be true about the supplies," she said, "but Hector came up with a way to take everything they would need up with him."

They all sat thinking in silence until the phone jumped off the hook. It startled all of them out of their thoughts and Mr. Poe answered it quickly.

"Hello?" Mr. Poe said. "Oh, hello. No, I'm not really busy right now." Violet rolled her eyes. "I just have some children in my office, that's all. Oh, you don't have any children? And you're looking to adopt? Oh, well that's perfect, because these children are orphans. Would you be interested? Oh, how many? There are three of them, one age fourteen, one thirteen, and one two. Yes, they are very good children, very well behaved, obedient, and respectful. Well, you could meet them if you'd like. Okay, tomorrow at 4:00 sounds good. Wonderful. Goodbye." Mr. Poe turned to the children. "There is someone who is interested in meeting you tomorrow. They are looking to adopt."

"We know," Klaus replied without emotion, "we heard all about it. Tomorrow at 4:00 sharp, right?

Mr. Poe just nodded.

"We'll be here," Violet said. This received one shocked look from her brother. Klaus nudged her painfully. "We can give them a chance at the meeting," she whispered, "and if they're terrible, we don't have to live with them."

"I don't even want to give them a chance. I just want to live with you, Sunny, Duncan, Isadora, and Hector."

"I never said that I wanted to live with them either," Violet replied without remorse, "we can just meet them and then run away to create our invention and find the Quagmires and Hector."

"Okay," Klaus said in a defeated manner, "I guess that will work. I just don't want to take any chances of being adopted and getting into another dangerous situation with Count Olaf."

"I understand," Violet said. "Don't worry about it. Everything will work out fine. We'll just explain to Mr. Poe after the meeting that we don't think that that would be the right home for us, and we'll go to find the self-sustaining hot air mobile home."

"Okay," Klaus said, suddenly reassured.


	3. The Meeting

Pretty soon, the next day rolled around and it was time for the meeting at Mr. Poe's office. Klaus was still reluctant to even go to the meeting, but Violet was still in good spirits. They ended up staying the night at Mr. Poe's house and going to work with him the next day, so they had some time to prepare for the meeting before the couple was scheduled to show up. Mr. Poe talked to them about being on their best behavior and trying to act "well behaved, obedient, and respectful."

"Please try to act the best that you can," Mr. Poe pleaded. "As you well know, I spent quite a while last night trying to find out information on this couple, and according to what I've found, I can conclude that they are a kind couple, one that truly likes children, and that would be very good parents for you."

"What if they're involved with Count Olaf?" Violet wondered aloud.

"I can assure you that they are NOT involved with Count Olaf," Mr. Poe replied, sounding a bit upset. "Now, please stop worrying about it; everything will be fine and they should arrive any minute now."

Just as Mr. Poe concluded his sentence, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Oh, they've arrived!" Mr. Poe said happily. "Please," he once again pleaded, quietly this time for fear those knocking on the door might hear him.

Mr. Poe walked over to the door. He glanced back at the children right before turning the doorknob. "Oh hello, come in, come in!" Mr. Poe said happily.

In walked a younger couple, about 25 years old or so. The lady was quite a bit shorter than the man, but both were beaming happily at the sight of the children.

"Hello!" the woman said. "My name is Kaitlyn Smith. And this is my husband, Austin."

"Mr. Poe has told us so much about you," Austin told the children with a huge smile on his face.

Kaitlyn Smith was about five foot five, with shoulder-length auburn hair. Austin was about five nine or so, with short blond hair. He was sporting a New York Yankees jersey. Both looked like they could have run over to hug the children.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. and Mr. Smith," Violet said, smiling. "Mr. Poe has also told us quite a bit about you."

"We've really been looking forward to meeting you," Mrs. Smith said. "We've trying to adopt for ages, but just have never found children that were perfect for us……"

"……but now we think that we've found them." Austin finished her sentence for her. These were the type of people that most children long to have as parents; the sugary sweet mother and the sporty father, but not even this enticed the children.

"How would you like to come to live with us?" Mrs. Smith asked.

Now Violet was stuck in a rut. Either she could say yes and as a result have her siblings hate her AND have her plan crushed, or she could say no and hurt this sweet couple's feelings.

Violet thought for a moment and then replied sadly, "We'd love to." Klaus glared at her, but she would explain to him later the situation she was in. Then it occurred to her.

"Okay, well you'll have to fill out these forms," Mr. Poe said. Mr. and Mrs. Smith got right to work. As they were filling out the forms, Violet quickly and quietly explained to Klaus and Sunny.

"What could I have done?" Violet asked Klaus rhetorically. "It will be a bit harder this time, but we can always run away."

"True," Klaus replied, quite visibly upset. They discussed for a bit longer how they would plan to do that until Mrs. Smith's voice brought them back to reality.

"We're finished with the paperwork. Are you children ready to go?"

"Yes," all three children replied in unison.


	4. Mr and Mrs Smith's Home

When the children arrived at the Smith's residence, they were immediately in awe. Everywhere they looked were beautiful furnishings, and evidence that they were moving in with a family of great wealth.

"Welcome to our home," Mrs. Smith greeted as they walked in the front door. Directly in front of them was a long corridor with many rooms on each side. The children gazed around them; amazed at this humongous house. They dumped their bags by the door and Violet wandered into the first room on the right, with the other orphans trailing behind her. It just happened to be the living room, a very large room with a fireplace and a plasma-screen television. The walls were cream-colored, with large cranberry drapery made of velvet. In the middle of the room was a coffee table made of mahogany wood. In the middle of the room, hanging from the ceiling, was a large, delicate chandelier. There was a large painting of a bowl of fruit on the wall above the fireplace. As Violet made a complete 360-degree turn, she noticed that Sunny was no longer in the room with her and Klaus. She walked back into the corridor and instead tried the first room on the left. Once again, she was amazed at the room's beauty. This was quite obviously the master bedroom. It was a deep, crimson red with a king-sized, four-poster bed. However, Sunny was not in the room. So she and Klaus exited the room and entered the second door to the right. This was a large bathroom, complete with a fabulous Jacuzzi. They found Sunny trying to climb into the Jacuzzi.

"Whew, I'm glad we found her," Klaus exclaimed. "It appears to be easy to get lost in this house."

"Me too," Violet replied. "We'd better get out of here before the Smith's find us in here and think that we're snooping around their house."

"Good idea," said Klaus. He seemed mesmerized by the size of the bathroom. "I never knew that bathrooms could be this big," he said in awe. "We weren't exactly poor, but our house never had a bathroom quite like this."

"I know," Violet replied. "Let's go back out with Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

They left the room, walked back through the long corridor and reentered the living room where they found Mrs. Smith polishing a beautiful, intricate sculpture.

"Wow, that's an amazing sculpture," Klaus told Mrs. Smith.

"Isn't it?" Mrs. Smith asked rhetorically. "This was passed down to me from my great-grandmother. It came over from Italy in the late 1880's."

Violet suddenly remembered the luggage they had left by the door. "We'd better go get our bags," Violet said to Klaus.

"Oh, don't worry about them," Mrs. Smith said, overhearing what Violet had said. "Austin has already taken them to your room. You will be staying in the last room on the right."

Klaus walked out of the living room to see their bedroom, with Violet and Sunny walking behind him. As they entered the room, they were amazed to see their bags already beside each of their beds in a fabulous room with blue walls. "It seems that every room in this house is a different color," Klaus remarked.

"True, but we shouldn't be staying here for much longer if we still plan to run away," Violet said, bringing Klaus back to reality. "Would the two of you rather stay here or run away to find Hector and the Quagmires in the self-sustaining hot-air mobile home?"

"Mobile home!" both Klaus and Sunny replied in unison.

"Okay, then let's figure out how and when we're going to leave this place."


	5. Discoveries

Violet looked at the clock. It read 1:45. Violet got out of bed and went down the stairs to get a drink of water. She walked into the kitchen and got a glass out of the cabinet. "It's really not that bad here," she thought. "This wouldn't be THAT bad of a place to live." Then Violet thought, "What am I thinking? I don't want to live here! I'd much rather live in the hot air mobile home with the Quagmires and Hector."

Violet placed the glass under the faucet and filled it about three-fourths of the way up. She took a few sips and decided to look around the kitchen as she savored her water. She glanced around the kitchen and saw the telephone mounted on the wall. As Violet stepped up to it, she noticed that there was a red light on the phone that was labeled, "Phone in use." "I wonder who could be using the phone at this time of the night," Violet wondered aloud. An odd feeling rose inside of her. She sensed that something wasn't right; something was going on that she did not know about. What person in their right mind would be using the phone at this time of the night? Violet stared at the phone, terrified, yet wondering why. She gave it some more thought and realized that she must be paranoid. "Yes," she thought, "that must be it. I'm paranoid. Maybe they just prefer to talk on the phone at night." But that inky feeling kept returning into her mind. She finally compromised by deciding to briefly listen to a fragment of the phone call. Violet reluctantly reached out and picked up the phone. Ever so quietly, she listened to the conversation going on.

"Yes, we picked up the children," said Mrs. Smith in a hushed voice.

"When can you deliver them to me?" asked a familiar voice on the other end of the phone line. This was not just any voice. Violet would recognize it anywhere. Every time she heard this voice, it was like she froze to the spot. It was a deep, harsh voice that quite obviously belonged to a man. It was Count Olaf.

"I knew it," Violet thought. "I just KNEW that they would be working for Count Olaf somehow." She remembered her hesitant feelings to even give the Smith's a chance from yesterday. Violet had mixed feelings; she was angry and terrified and felt very betrayed. However, she stayed rooted to the spot and continued to listen to the phone call.

She heard Mrs. Smith say, "We could bring them to you next Tuesday. Is that convenient for you?"

"Actually, no, it's not. You must realize that I need these children as soon as possible. Is there any way that you bring them by sooner?"

"Well, yes, we could bring them the day after tomorrow."

"Yes, yes, that's much better," Violet heard Count Olaf reply. She heard greed in his voice. "Could you bring them by, say, about noon maybe?"

"Sure," Mrs. Smith replied. "And now, how are we going to be paid?"

"Oh yes, that is also something we need to discuss. Your payment. You shall receive 200 dollars for each child that you bring, which will quite obviously be three. I will have your check ready when you come by. Do you know what you will say to the devils to get them to come?"

"Of course. I am going to tell them tomorrow that we are going away on a business trip and that they will be staying with you as their babysitter."

"That should work. Well, I must be going now, and I look forward to seeing you in a few days. Goodbye."

"Goodbye," Mrs. Smith said before hanging up. After the line went dead, Violet quietly hung up. She noticed that her mouth went unusually dry. She took another sip of water, poured the rest down the drain, and walked out of the kitchen. She turned down the corridor to go back to where Klaus and Sunny were, but as she stepped into the corridor, she saw the master bedroom door open slowly, making slight creaking noises. Terrified, she ducked into the living room, snuck across the humongous room, and crouched down behind the couch. She peered out from behind the side of the couch and saw as short shadow cast on the wall in the hallway. She realized that Mrs. Smith must be doing the same thing she had been doing before she decided to eavesdrop on Mrs. Smith's conversation. Violet waited about five minutes and saw Mrs. Smith's shadow return, but going back down the hall. She heard the door creak open slowly and heard the sound of the door shutting slowly. Violet rose from behind the couch and walked to the doorway. She saw the small frame of light around the door leading to the master bedroom go dark and heard soft whispers emerging from the room. She snuck back into the guest bedroom and found both Klaus and Sunny awake waiting for her to return. Violet slipped back into the bed and whispered, "We need to talk."

"Why; what's up Violet?" Klaus asked, sounding concerned.

Violet began to tell her story immediately. "I was in the kitchen getting a glass of water when I noticed that the telephone line was in use. I found that kind of ironic at this time of night, so reluctantly I picked up the phone to eavesdrop. I overheard Mrs. Smith talking to Count Olaf about leaving us with him the day after tomorrow, claiming to be going away on a business trip. I started on my way back and nearly ran into Mrs. Smith." Violet paraphrased her whole story in about 15 seconds and was out of breath by the time she had finished. She looked at the petrified look on Klaus' face, understanding that they were obviously thinking the same thing. If they planned to get away, they had to do it SOON; there was no more time to waste messing around or else they would once again be stuck with Count Olaf, and who knew what he would do to them to get his hands on their deceased parents' fortune.

"I think that we should leave as soon as possible, preferably tonight," Klaus told his sisters.

"Agree," Sunny said in her baby talk. She had been speaking with very few words for a while, but usually they were nonsense. Just recently had she actually started using real words.

"Me too," Violet said. "Our stuff is still packed up, and we don't know what will happen tomorrow, so maybe we'd better leave right now."

"Let's all get dressed and try to leave in the next twenty minutes," Klaus announced, setting a time goal for him and both of his siblings. "Let's get out of here before we are back with Count Olaf."

"Good idea," both of his sisters agreed, and they started to get dressed for their escape.


	6. On the Way Back to Town

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny walked down the long, winding driveway, hurriedly and hushed. After they gathered what few belongings they had unpacked during their brief stay at the Smith's residence, they exited the house and an unexpected lull fell over the trio. When they got to the end of the driveway, Klaus peered both ways quickly, appearing quite paranoid and unsure of himself. As far as he could see, in both directions, was land belonging to the Smith's. It appeared quite neat, as neat as a piece of land could be. The entire piece of land was covered with short, fuzzy grass, giving the impression that it had been mowed quite recently. The estate was surrounded by a white picket fence, ending about a mile and a half away in either direction. The house was in the middle of the property, and quite near the front, when the size of the land was taken into consideration. Directly behind the house was a large screened in swimming pool, with a hot tub next to it, and a sauna adjacent to the screened in area. The endless piece of land surrounding the house and swimming area wasn't completely empty, for towards the back of the land, far off to one side, was a large barn, and even from the children's location far away, was heard a distinct cacophony of rambunctious animals.

Had an outsider been standing near the children, they would think them quite foolish and silly, for the three children were slowly turning in a circle, dazed and in awe of what they were witnessing around them. The Baudelaire's had been rich, but not even they possessed a house this beautiful or this much land. Violet wondered why Count Olaf would do everything in his power to steal their deceased parents' fortune, when he could quite obviously obtain a larger sum of money by pursuing this couple.

Klaus was the first to break the stunned silence. "We'd better get going," he declared.

"Yeah, but which way?" Violet wondered aloud.

They once again observed the land in silence, but this time with more contemplating and confusion than with awe and adoration as before. Finally, after much thought, Klaus stated, "I think we should go this way," pointing to the left, "because at the edge of the property, at that curve in the road, there is the faint glow of light, which are probably coming from streetlights leading into town."

"You're right," Violet added thoughtfully. Her brother's reasoning did make sense. Plus, she thought she did remember a large bend in the road just before they arrived to the enormous estate. "Let's go; we have a long way to go before we get to town, where we can get some help. We have a long night ahead of us." Finally, with an air of determination, she walked forward, and her siblings followed behind her.


End file.
